Blackjack Animal Rescue

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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Isaiah 50:10 Who is among you that fears the LORD, who obeys the voice of his Servant, yet who walks in darkness and deep trouble and has no shining splendor? Let him rely on and trust in and be confident in the name of the LORD and let him lean upon and be supported by his GOD. Amplified Bible

Hello fellow rescuers and bloggers!

We are addressing a subject here that we have recently experienced. Walking in darkness, something we are struggling to understand. No, I am not talking about being lost, that walking in darkness refers to those still living in the kingdom of darkness and have never known the LORD. GOD has indeed translated me out of the kingdom of darkness led by Satan and his demons and into His glorious kingdom of light.

I remember the exact day that happened, March 13, 1997. A glorious GOD and a glorious day! For the next 18 months, He was my every thought. Before I even became fully conscious in the morning, His name was on my lips and the thought of Him was with me all day long. I read my Bible and prayed without stopping. The words jumped off the page. He revealed secrets to me and answered questions that had always troubled me my entire life. The words I heard came from His WORD, the Bible. But there was that sweet feeling of His Presence with me constantly. Like a little babe that needs a mom's breast milk., I was feeding on the WORD.

Then one morning, January 7th, 1999, I woke up, and it was different. I was thinking about something else, and I was not conscious of His felt Presence. Emotionally, I was not ready for this event. I became very depressed. Where was He? Did I do something wrong? I fully understood that when I got saved it was forever, but now, I didn't understand the implications of the loss. It was so simple to live with Him always telling me what to do and speaking to me and comforting me. Now there was just a stillness and silence.

I was devastated. I went to see a counselor. She handed me the devotional book Streams in the Desert and Rivers in the Valleys by EB Cowman. I have never stopped reading this book. Morning and evening. But still, it was very quiet and I didn't know what was going on. HELP LORD, what do I do now?

I was led back to my Bible and read the verse above. Who is walking in darkness? But loves the LORD and knows HIM? The person that fears GOD. That person must continue to worship and trust and lean on GOD in the quiet times. The desert times. The times when everything seems like it will never change.

Maybe you are going through a divorce. Or have lost your job and cannot find another one. Or the circumstances in your life are devastating and there is no way you can live like this! But GOD does not take you out of your circumstances. Instead, He shows you more of Himself. This is when we must learn to lean. Keep walking, and keep moving forward in the light of His WORD. Don't give up and don't give in to depression or any earthly feelings. He's is there, just understand that and move on.

Bjackrescue.com: we have an animal rescue and we also have a transport. The transport is DOGSHIP Transport. Why did we call it DOGSHIP? It seems like such a simple name. D.O.G., Depend on GOD. Very simple. We depend on GOD for the way to go, the passengers, the income to keep it running, the drivers, the safe passage. Everything associated with the transport is a GOD thing. No, we don't try to work it up ourselves, it would be useless to do that. We must wait on GOD to make it work and make it work the way He wants it to work. If you see the drivers, they will be smiling. Why? they have also learned to Depend on GOD. Pain and suffering is what makes the Christian mellow and able to help others. That is what we want to do. We want to help animals and we want to help people too!

Learning to lean on GOD and walk in darkness until we come through on the other side. Stronger, better, more humble, loving others and not ourselves as much as before. It's a process! We are getting there!

And we are getting to your place! Our next trip is September 22 and 23rd. From Atlanta, GA area to the northeast. Destinations to be determined by our GOD according to His gracious plan for us.

Please check out the web site, bjackrescue.com and see if there is a dog that you can help! We have Petey and Jackson, two boxer/pit bull puppies needing a rescue. Also Sadie, Bear and Elijah need rescue. And I will be adding 7 lab retreiver puppies in the next couple of days. Their mom was run over and killed and they need a place to go, other than the pound! And there is also a husky mom with 4 little 2 week old pups. Her person died a month ago and the neighbors are feeding her, but they don't want to keep them. No one is helping her, she is just under his house! DEAR GOD!!!!!!

Please help us help some of these animals. Log onto the homepage and donate to sponsor one of these needy animals to get to their rescue. bjackrescue.com. They have no one right now, so you are their only hope!

Trusting GOD that you will share your money with them and that GOD will richly bless you in the ministering to them!

Call me if you want to talk about walking in darkness, I am willing and able to share with you my experience and the place where He has brought me. It's a blessing to be able to help and comfort others. 423-340-2138! YOU ARE NEVER ALONE IN YOUR WALK!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Therefore, behold, I the LORD GOD will hedge up her way with thorns; and I will build up a wall against her that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but not find them. Then shall she say, Let me go and return unto my first husband, for then it was better with me than now.

Idols of the heart. Maybe you have one. Or two, or three. Recently I was reminded by the LORD that I had an idol in my heart. Something that had taken the place of the One True and Living GOD.

But LORD, how could that be? I am really serving you and working hard every day? Please let me know what this means!

What is an idol? In this modern day, do we really have idols that we bow down to? How do we know if we have an idol. Is an idol always an object that we can see? Has GOD hedged your way with thorns and you cannot make a move? Blocked your every turn?

Let's talk!

An idol is ANYTHING that is foremost in your mind. You wake up and this thing, or person is on your mind. When you get angry, it is because someone is trying to mess with your idol. You must justify your idol, why you spend all your time on it. Why you spend all your money on it. Why it takes up all your energy and your every thought to the point of being overwhelmed!

We may not even be able to see our idol. We don't think we are bowing down to idols, after all, we are very intelligent, right?

What is your idol? Is it your rescue? Your job? Your money? Your grandkid? Your grand passion that revolves around you and "your thing"?

Ok, so you say, back off, so I like my job, what is wrong with that? God tells us to work and not be lazy! But still, you have broken the foremost commandment, which is, " you shall love the LORD your GOD with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul, and your neighbor as yourself".

You know that your mind is divided, you have been convicted. But you have tamped down the thought and promised that you will read your Bible more and start going to church more, but still, the conscience is now being seared with a hot iron and it all seems to be unimportant as long as no one touches your idol.

You still spend all your time and energy preserving your idol.

Rebekah, remember her, in Genesis, she stole her father's idols and stowed them away in her camel pouch. She was prepared to take them with her, just in case that Isaac's GOD couldn't/wouldn't come through in this new and scary land she was journeying to with her husband.

We are the same way. We try to hide that idol and pretend that it is not being placed on the throne of our hearts. But don't dare touch it, or you will blow sky high! That is your idol!

But if you are a child of GOD, He will hedge your way with thorns. You want to head in that direction and you keep moving that way with all the energy and effort you can throw at it. But still, no progress is made, you cannot go forward and the worst part is that you are so frustrated that your life seems hopeless.

You need hope, Christ is our hope, he is the One who has died for us, who took all our sin upon Himself and now sits at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.

Our hope is that He will hedge our way up with thorns. After all, the path that we take is the way that seems right to us, but in the end, that way leads to death! He won't let us go there.

Return to the LORD! NOW!

Don't push toward your idol. Step back, Take a deep breath and say, LORD, please give me the desire to read your WORD. I will obey, I will bow down before you and ask you to take away every idol and smash it to the ground. Give me a clear conscience and renew a right spirit within me.

He will do it. Of course, that is what He intended to do all along. He is just waiting for you to get tired of the thorns and come to your senses.

It will be OK, life will go on, He will provide the grace for you and for me to make it. Our issues will be resolved by His goodness and His lovingkindness and His GRACE.

God bless you and as He has blessed you , please consider allowing me to help you. If you want to talk about idols, please contact me, blackjackrescue@live.com

I am a Bible counselor and I also want to rescue animals. God has made a way for me and He will for you as well.

Consider helping one of our dogs, we have so many in need. Contact me if you can foster, adopt, donate or help transport one of our dogs!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

The 19th century Christian George Muller once said, "God orders the steps of a righteous man. He also orders the stops."

Yes, we have all heard the song, "God is in control!"

And some of us really believe this.
But we may not always be happy about this.
I have often thought that God is in control of my life, but at certain times, I wish that He was not!

Since beginning to rescue dogs back in 2006, we have always understood with the heart that God, Himself is in the details of rescuing. God has given us the Great Commission, and that involves people. "go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Matthew 28:19.

So you might say, what does this have to do with rescuing dogs????

Well, people have dogs, right? And people and dogs need rescue. So what better way to spend our days here on earth, than to do that which God has called us to do!

So for years, we kept at it, rescuing dogs, helping people, and it went rather smoothly! We give God all the credit for this success.

Everything was green light, steady forward and onward as we go!

Suddenly though, we ran right up against a wall, it was a great big RED LIGHT! STOP, do not pass go, do not collect $200. GO directly to jail!

No one wanted to adopt any dogs. We could not rescue a dog if we tried. Someone rescued them before we could help. Or they rescued themselves by running off from the shelter. All my crossposts went to the spam folder. No one answered my emails. The ones we had recently rescued died of disease. The people who had adopted wanted to return their dogs. Fosters could no longer foster. The IRS lost our tax papers. I suddenly had shingles and could hardly get up out of the bed.!!!

OOHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Now LORD, you know that this is not right. I don"t understand why you are doing this. I know you want us to help dogs.

No answer. Only silence. So, I knelt down and opened my Bible. I was very mad and angry, at people, and yes, at God also. How did I come to this place? I let my words rush out.

All these people are hurting your creatures LORD...they beat them and abuse them and dump them in shelters. And everyone is apathetic, they don't want to help and no one wants to donate. It's just not right.

"Yes, I know Sharon. Repent of your secret sins, your attitudes of the heart. You have built up layers of hatred and anger that have brought you to this place where you cannot go forward. I am the One who brought about this stop in your life.I am that I am. I will do what I will do, in your life and in others. I am in control."

LORD, no, I want to be in control, why do we have to do this? I am not ready to stop hating people. They have done so many bad things to me and to the animals. They tell lies, they abandon animals, they deceive and hate and hurt with impunity. They steal and try to backstab me, destroying my name and the rescue name. They don't even know me or what I am doing.

Only silence.....No, I can't believe this, I feel sorry for myself. Ouch!

Suddenly I begin to smell something like sulfur. Ok, I can't blame the devil for everything, but he sure has thrown some flames on this fire. So I need to stop having self pity. I need to get a life!

I need hope....I need Christ. He is the only One who has died for me and bore my sins. He is the only One who has had even worse things done to Him, and He didn't even open His mouth, He said, "Father, forgive them." If He can forgive, I can forgive, not in my own strength, but in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Ok, LORD, I will repent of this anger. I repent of hatred. I have been walking in darkness. Nothing matters if you are not with me. It is all ashes and dust. You have torn me up and smitten me, and I know that you will heal me and bind me up. So I ask that you heal me, my spirit, which does not know the joy of the LORD anymore, my body, which is smitten, and my mind and emotions which are in total meltdown. I give this all to you. I will know the joy of the LORD again. I will seek after You and Your righteousness. Please help me. I cannot do this without You. you have already seen how far away I have drifted from Your will.

After many days of reading my Bible and beginning to understand where God has brought me, I decided that I will obey God. I will not do anything until He tells me what to do. I will be thankful for what He has already done. I make my decisions based upon His stops. I give the rescue into His hands. If it fails, it is His will. If it succeeds, it is His will. It is not my rescue anymore. I will cooperate with others. I will do what is right for the others and for the animals. I will decrease and He will increase. I will listen. I will love. I will share and begin to see each person as One for who Christ died and as someone who needs help. His help, through me. The rescue is good, it is good to help animals. God wills that we do it. He created them after all. The stop will suddenly be a green light again. But we will take small baby steps and not rush on without His Word.

Bitterness of heart will take away your joy. It will make our work very difficult, yes, even impossible. God does not want us to work and be involved in our human efforts with this poison in our hearts. Yes, we can go on and keep doing it in our own strength, but we will fail miserably.

But God is faithful, His mercies are new every morning. He will not let us keep on this path without some serious consequences, not if we are His.

Thank you God, that you order our steps and also, the stops! I praise YOUR HOLY NAME!

Friday, August 26, 2011

We want to welcome you to our new web page.

Did you know there is a big problem here in East Tennessee? There are too many homeless dogs. Here at Blackjack we want to tell you all about it because we need your help. Right now only 30% of lost dogs are reclaimed by their owners, the other 70% only have a 20% chance of finding a new home. Most are euthanized because there is simply no room.

While the problem may seem overwhelming, Blackjack, like many organizations across the country, has chosen to face the problem head on. Working locally in East Tennessee, our goal is to place healthy, adoptable animals in new and loving homes while aiding in the fight against pet overpopulation.

These dogs are real. The volunteers who go to the shelters to rescue our dogs are haunted by the faces of the dogs they must leave behind. Blackjack relies on donations to continue and expand its work. Every dollar contributed brings us closer to the day when no dogs are left behind to be euthanized.